Hoyer Statement on GDP for Second Quarter 2013

WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on the estimate of GDP for the second quarter of 2013:

“The report this morning by the Bureau of Economic Analysis that our economy grew by 1.7% last quarter is encouraging news. In spite of uncertainty caused by Congress’s failure to provide clear direction in fiscal and economic policy – and the ongoing sequester that exacerbates that uncertainty – America’s businesses, workers, and entrepreneurs continue to show the resilience of our economy. But we must do more to help turn resilience into prosperity.

“To speed up the growth of our economy and get more Americans back to work, we must replace the irrational sequester policy with a balanced alternative. According to a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office last week, the sequester could cost our economy as many as 1.3 percentage points of growth and 1.6 million jobs by the end of the next fiscal year. This is unacceptable and irresponsible. I hope Republicans will look carefully at those figures and at today’s report and reconsider their refusal to compromise.

“When Congress returns in September, we have an opportunity to find a balanced solution that can end the sequester, consider House Democrats’ Make It In America legislation to invest in jobs and competitiveness, and work together to avert manufactured fiscal crises that could further erode the confidence and certainty our private sector requires to succeed.”